Safety rail-brace



No. 626,080. Patented May 30, I899.

v J. A. McCANN. SAFETY RAIL BRACE.

(Application filed J 29, 1898.)

(No Model.)

1' H I g, l M

WITNESSES IN VENTOH W. a. @M (7070p 17. tjf'anru. BY W A TTOHNEYS.

NORmS PETERS cu, maria-Luna. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

JOHN A. MOOANN, OF QUINCY, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY RAlL-BRAC E.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 626,080, dated May 30,1899. Applicatioufiled January 29,1898. Serial No. 668,481. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, JOHN A. MCOANN, a citizen of the United States,residing in Quincy, in

the county of Adams and State of Illinois, have invented a new anduseful Combined Rail-Brace and Tie-Plate, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an improvement in rail-braces and tie-plates;and the objects of my improvement are, first, the maintenance ofaperfect gage in a railroad track; second, the preservation of thewooden ties upon which they rest by preventing the rails from cuttinginto them and to relieve the spikes of the outward pressure of therails, dispensing with the necessity of drawing and redriving them tohold a gage; third, to prevent the wear of the rails by the lateral orswinging motion of the rolling-stock resulting from an imperfect gage tolessen the strain on the road-bed, generally resulting from the samecause; fourth, to reduce the wear and tear of the rolling-stock bypreventing the lateral or swinging motion caused by an imperfect gage. Iattain these objects by the formof brace and tie-plate illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of asection of railroad-track in which my inventionis shown practicallyapplied. Fig. 2 is avertical crosssection showing a flange of the braceand tie bearing upon a spike instead of a rail-flange.

As shown in Fig. 1, each steel brace and tie-plate A is laid flat upon atie B, and the rails 0 rest on the broadened ends of the plates, towhich they are rigidly clamped and thus secured, so as to remain exactlyequidistant or maintain a perfect gage. The means for clamping the railson their outer sides are flanges formed of integral portions of theflexible iron plates A. Thus each plate A has an opening for a spike forclamping the inner base-flanges of the opposite rails C, and thusholding the latter apart or preventing them moving toward each other. Onone end of each plate A is a single central outer flange or claw 2 andon the opposite end a correspondinglateral flange 2. Each of the flanges2 is formed in the .transverse center of the end of plate A, leaving onopposite sides of said flange two tongues 3, which lie flat on the tieB. On the opposite end of the plate A there is but one such tongue 4,and the same has a hole for a spike 1'. It is appar ent the flanges 2and 2 are formed by slitting the heads or ends of the plate A from theend inward and then turning up certain of the divided portions.

It will be further seen that by reversing each alternate plate A endforend both spikes 1 and flange 2 are available at each alternate pointfor holding the rai1st'. 6., preventing the spreading apart. The broadflat form of the heads of the plates A prevent them being forced orembedded into the wooden ties B. The plates A are reduced in widthbetween the rails O.

In Fig. 1 the flanges 2 2 are shown in direct contact with the bases ofthe rails C; but in Fig. 2 the flanges 5 of a plate A are shown pressingupon the heads of spikes that pass through the plate into the tie andengage the bases of the rails C.

In explanation of the manner of laying the track I will state that theflange of the plate holding the outside base of the rail is not quitethree-fourths of an inch long, while the integral part of the platepunched out to receive the spike on the inside of the base of the railis fully one inch removed from it, thus leavingample space to fit uponthe rail. In applying a rail one side is fitted to the. rail between theties, the inside spikes are removed from the opposite rail, and theplate fitted on when the rail is moved back to gage in grasp of theplate, which is slid onto the face of the tie and spiked and theintegral parts bent over the heads of the spikes, so as to prevent theirworking out.

What I claim is a The combination with the rails of the combined metalbrace and tie composed of a flat plate having an integral tongue 5,formed of abent-up portion of metal out out. of said tie, and a spikedriven through the opening beneath the tongue and engaged by the latteras shown and described.

JOHN A. MCOANN. d

Witnesses:

JOHN T. INGHRAM, CLAY CREWDSON.

